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New York Yankees pitcher Domingo German throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium Tuesday, June 19, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Yanks back stellar German with 4 HRs, beat Mariners 7-2

June 19, 2018 - 11:29 pm

The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — In their first road test against baseball's top team, the upstart Seattle Mariners were no match for the Yankees' pitching and power.

Domingo German tossed two-hit ball over a career-high seven innings and Giancarlo Stanton hit one of New York's four home runs Tuesday night in a 7-2 victory against the Mariners.

"A lot of fun," Stanton said. "We were clicking on all cylinders."

Miguel Andujar and Aaron Hicks each belted a two-run shot off Marco Gonzales in the fifth. Hicks homered for the third straight day and finished with three hits from the leadoff spot as the Yankees (48-22) moved a season-best 26 games above .500.

Coming off a four-hit game, Stanton sent a solo drive to straightaway center field in the first. Aaron Judge had an RBI single in the seventh, and rookie phenom Gleyber Torres added his 14th home run in the eighth.

The first two batters reached against German (2-4) on a double and an error. The rookie right-hander then retired 19 in a row until Nelson Cruz homered in the seventh.

"Dominating, man. Just pounding the zone, blowing it by guys and just showing what he can do," Stanton said.

After beating Tampa Bay for his first major league win last week, German was impressive once again. Featuring a sharp breaking ball, he struck out nine and walked none while throwing 67 of 96 pitches for strikes.

"I even kicked around sending him back out there for the eighth because he was just so efficient," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "He's really talented."

German has 28 strikeouts in his last three starts, a span of 19 innings.

"He was throwing everything. Changeup, curveball — he was commanding everything," Cruz said. "He kept us off balance. It seems like we were late with fastballs, early with breaking pitches. It was his day."

A.J. Cole worked two perfect innings to complete a crisp game that took just 2 hours, 28 minutes. New York has won 15 of 19 overall.

One of baseball's biggest surprises so far, the Mariners (46-27) lost for only the eighth time in 30 games as they opened a 10-game trip to the East Coast that could serve as an early summer measuring stick. Three games at Yankee Stadium will be followed by three in Boston — the top two teams in the majors.

"We're going to play our game. Things didn't turn out the way we wanted it to," Cruz said. "We'll come back positive tomorrow and try to make things better."

Gonzales (7-4) entered 4-0 with 1.41 ERA in his past six starts but wasn't up to the task in his first career outing against the Yankees. The left-hander gave up eight hits and a career-high six runs over 6 1/3 innings in his first loss since May 12 at Detroit.

"They're a good hitting team. I think they had the right game plan tonight. Just sitting off speed, kind of out front," Gonzales said. "They got me early in the count and I think kudos to them on their approach."

The three home runs off Gonzales matched a career high and raised his season total to nine.

"It's a short porch. It's a boom box in here," he said. "I am going to learn from it and get better. What an experience for me. ... I think I was very excited and obviously living out a childhood dream of being able to pitch here."

STATS AND SUCH

New York improved to a major league-best 27-11 at home — and 17-5 against left-handed starters this season. ... Yankees pitchers have a 1.97 ERA in 17 games this month, best in the majors. ... New York has won eight of its last 10 vs. the Mariners and is 17-6 against them since June 10, 2014. ... New York leads the majors with 118 homers. ... Yankees SS Didi Gregorius played in his 700th career game, passing Hall of Fame pitcher Bert Blyleven for the most by anyone born in the Netherlands.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Mariners: RHP Nick Vincent (strained right groin) threw 14 pitches in a scoreless inning Monday for Double-A Arkansas. He is expected to make one more rehab appearance Wednesday with Arkansas before rejoining the Mariners in Boston.

Yankees: OF Brett Gardner (swollen right knee) could return to the lineup Wednesday, Boone said. ... Torres slept funny on his shoulder a few nights ago but said he's fine. Boone would like to get the second baseman a day off soon regardless.

UP NEXT

Mariners: RHP Felix Hernandez (6-6, 5.44 ERA) pitches the middle game of the series Wednesday night. King Felix is 7-2 with a 2.00 ERA over 11 career starts in the Bronx, including 6-1 with a 1.41 ERA in nine outings at the current Yankee Stadium. The six-time All-Star and 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner is 10-7 with a 3.04 ERA and four complete games in 21 starts against New York overall.

Yankees: RHP Jonathan Loaisiga (1-0) gets the ball again after coming up from Double-A Trenton and throwing five shutout innings to win his big league debut vs. Tampa Bay last Friday. With ace Luis Severino (10-2) set to face James Paxton (6-1) in a marquee matchup Thursday afternoon, the Yankees are scheduled to start only pitchers 25 or younger during an entire series of at least three games for the first time since September 2006 in Toronto.